Sunday, November 26, 2017

The Flash #35 - A Review

Meena Dhawan has escaped from The Speed Force, but this is hardly the blessing both Barry Allen and Wally West thougt it would be. Meena has revealed herself as being in league with The Black Hole - the collective of amoral scientists who seek to harness The Speed Force for their own dark ends.

Meena has also ripped the negative Speed Force energy from Barry's body, leaving him weakened and her newly empowered as The Negative Flash. Even with Wally to help him, can Barry hope to stand against the woman he once loved?

Asked to sum up The Flash #35 in a word, I would have to choose "disappointing." The artwork by Pop Mhan and Ivan Plascencia is some of the best the series has seen to date but that's just pretty paint on an ugly shell. The chief problem is the dialogue, which lacks the usual punch Joshua Williamson puts into his scripts. This leads one to wonder if Williamson merely provided the plot for this issue and Michael Moreci wrote the actual script?

A larger problem, logistically at least, is the book's treatment of its female cast. Here, we see Meena turned into a villain out of nowhere for the sake of quick drama. The end of the issue hints at the death of one of Barry's female co-workers - a revelation which will serve no purpose other than to give Barry further angst about his work-life. It's lazy storytelling and beneath the creators involved.

The Final Analysis: 6 out of 10. Great artwork, but the story leaves a lot to be desired.